<p>As usual, I’ve been coerced into planning our extended family’s biennial vacation, but I’m completely out of ideas this year. Just wondering if any of you have any great ideas?</p>
<p>There will be 12-15 of us, ages 21 to 64. Half live in the northeast or mid-Atlantic states and the rest live in south Florida. A couple of the young adults can only take off work for one week, and the only week everyone can make it is the first week of June. We like active vacations that might include outdoor adventure, historical sights, and/or great beaches. Places we’ve been together in the past include Maine, Cape Cod, Hilton Head, Key West, Bahamas, Paris, Grand Canyon, Colorado, Seattle/Vancouver, Northern California, and Maui (twice), but most of those were two-week vacations.</p>
<p>The first week of June is probably too early in the season for a vacation in any of the western states since a couple of the young adults specifically requested warm weather. Some of the older adults want to go to Spain or Italy, but I think it’s too far away for a one-week vacation. I thought about someplace in the Caribbean, but I’m afraid it might be too much like Florida for the Florida residents. Nobody wants a cruise and nobody wants a resort where there’s nothing else to do in the area…</p>
<p>Any suggestions and, if so, places to stay? I’m leaning towards Hawaii (Big Island) since all but two of us can stay for more than a week. In that case, however, two of the young adults would fly there on a Saturday and leave the following Saturday.</p>
<p>We had a great week once on Guadeloupe, which had a fantastic combination of beach, city, natural beauty (a huge park, with an active volcano in the middle, a wide variety of geographical zones, great reefs), great food, and a fair amount of culture.</p>
<p>Barcelona (which has a pretty decent beach accessible by public transportation) could also be fine for a week (with or without side-trips elsewhere in Catalunya, either historical or to the even better, cooler beaches south-west of the city). </p>
<p>Also check out the original eco-resort Maho Bay on St. John’s. No real culture, but it sure ain’t like Florida! Fabulous hiking and scuba/snorkeling.</p>
<p>I love dude ranches. My D and I went to Tanque Verde in Tucson and loved it. There were lots of families there, but we were there in March. The other ranch we went to was in the mountains of North Carolina - big families there also. There was lots to do other than horseback riding.The views of the mountains in NC were just beautiful. Rates for both of these are all inclusive. Food was great at both. </p>
<p>The last time we were in Kona the VOG (Volcano smog) was pretty awful. You might want to research that before you decide on a vacation on the big island.</p>
<p>I thought about Tanque Verde, too (much larger than the ranch we frequented) but, as I recall, it’s not very high and would probably be quite warm in June. Please correct me if I am mistaken.</p>
<p>I think that the monuntains of NC in June would be delightful.</p>
<p>Here on the west coast we head to Hawaii a lot. But it’s pretty painless. (5 hour flight, direct flights from SF/LA to Maui and the big island as well as Honolulu…) From the east coast wouldn’t it be a 10-11 hour plane trip with at least one stopover? At that point Europe would be closer.</p>
<p>In Italy you could pick just one area. There’s lots of stuff to do on the Sorentine peninsula. (Beach, Capri, Positano, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii…) You could rent a couple of villas.</p>
<p>If you want Hawaii, I would go to Oahu if you have young people in the group. There is Honolulu for awesome restaurants, and right outside of it you will find pristine, rural beauty. Waikiki is a fantastic place to stay for young people. The Halikulani is a beautiful, serene boutique hotel that will really please the adults (and the young people can walk two minutess along the beach to the center of the action). Fantastic restaurants. The Royal Hawaiian (big pink hotel) is right smack in the middle of Waikiki. One of my teens has stayed at both and prefers the latter. It is just a super fun place. BTW…I never thought I would want to go to Waikiki. My thought was…yuck. A friend insisted I check it out, and I was hooked. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind being in a place where you need to drive to get to Waikiki, check out Ko Olina on Oahu. I have heard great things about it from a number of friends. Our family prefers to be where the action is, but if you want to be a bit removed it is a good bet.</p>
<p>I would also recommend a sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands. You can commission one or more private, small yachts for the price of a stay at either of the hotels I just recommended. This is a trip that would seem out of most people’s price range, but it ends up being the same (even cheaper) than a very nice hotel vacation when everything is added up. You will get a captain and a personal chef on each one - the ones we have gone on have about five bedrooms (although some of my family members like to sleep on top under the stars). All food and drinks are included, and they take you all over into these amazing remote coves (and to fun stops with great restaurants and clubs if that is your thing). If anyone dives, get a captain who is a certified dive master and make sure all the equipment you need is on board. This was also a vacation which pleased everyone.</p>
<p>mafool - I don’t know the temps in Tucson in June but it may well be uncomfortably hot. Of course, my idea of uncomfortable hot these days is 75 degrees. I hate the heat.</p>
<p>JHS: I will definitely check out all three places. If I can find decent flights, Barcelona looks especially promising.</p>
<p>mafool, cartera45, and musicamusica: My immediate family LOVES dude ranches, but there are two city-slicker folks in the extended family who would be miserable at a dude ranch. If possible, I’d like to find something to please everyone. As for the NC mountains, one of our family members is currently in the process of purchasing a home there. That’s where we plan to have our extended family vacation in a couple of years!</p>
<p>Puzzled88: Thanks for the VOG alert. I thought it was only an issue on the south side of the island, but apparently it’s a problem everywhere now. Looks like the Big Island is out.</p>
<p>UCDAlum82: The best Italy flight I could come up with for a couple of family members had them leaving on Saturday morning and arriving on Sunday night. Since these are the people that can only take off one week from work, I think it’s too much travel time. It takes one full travel day to get to Hawaii, which I consider our limit. If we had more than a week, we’d definitely go to Italy.</p>
<p>spideygirl: My husband would LOVE a sailing trip. I’ll ask the other members of the group what they think. Thanks for the suggestion. One question, though: Is Oahu more overrun with tourists than Maui? Maui is our perfect vacation destination, but we’ve been there twice and prefer to visit someplace else. We stayed one night in Oahu and it seemed much more commercial than Maui.</p>
<p>I second UCDalum. Europe is closer than Hawaii for you and I personally find the Big Island boring. It’s very resort oriented–most people rarely leave and the beaches are not great.</p>
<p>Capri, on the other hand, is to die for. And there are lots of activities/things to see: the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, the fabulous little city of Sorrento and the restaurant where pizza was invented in Naples.</p>
<p>Those of you who have 2 weeks should stay in a couple of spots, but for one week I’d use the amazing Capri as my base. I can’t get enough of that island.</p>
<p>A third vote for a dude ranch! We went as an extended family to Eaton’s Ranch in Wyoming for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, and it was a blast! Probably too far north for the first week of June (I think we went the 3rd week of June, which was perfect), but it was one of the best vacations ever.</p>
<p>Iceland? Icelandic Air always has great deals and the country side is supposed to be beautiful. We did Sweden last summer with 16 aged 4-72. Great memories and the teenage boys certainly enjoyed the topless beaches!</p>
<p>I second that. Ko Olina is our favorite spot on Oahu. H and I had a very relaxing wacation there recently (we stayed at the Marriott’s resort condos because we like to cook our own food). However, when we stayed at the same place with our teen and her friend, we had to shuttle the youngsters to Honolulu because they liked to be in the center of the city life.</p>
<p>Marriott’s Beach Club [Marriott’s</a> Ko Olina Beach Club](<a href=“http://www.marriott-vacations.com/travel/resorts/marriott-ko-olina-beach-club/overview.html]Marriott’s”>http://www.marriott-vacations.com/travel/resorts/marriott-ko-olina-beach-club/overview.html) resort has several pools (some are quiet adult pools, and some have very fun stuff like a lazy river, volleyball nets, and a twisted waterslide), a nice workout center, several restaurants, and even a dedicated hot tub for teens (of course, the best one with the view of the ocean is reserved for adult use :)) Man-made lagoons in Ko Olina make swimming in the ocean very pleasant - no surf, calm and quiet, which I love. H was slightly disappointed that there was not much snorkeling there, but the lagoons are frequented by sea turtles, and they are much more fun to watch than the stupid fish, IMO.</p>
<p>Oahu is weird because Honolulu is of course a big city, and Waikiki is quite commercial. Outside of that it is very rural. I have been to Maui as well (Kea Lani and Grand Wailea) and don’t want to go back either. Yet I do want to go back to Oahu. Why…</p>
<p>Maui felt to me like every country club family from the mainland transplanted to a few resorts for a week. It was boring to me. Something about Oahu feels more Hawaiian, and it is more exciting and diverse. You can go board or body surfing on the north shore, explore small towns in the countryside, snorkel in this park which is amazing, and swim with dolphins. You can shop at the finest upscale stores, or search for gaudy trinkets at an open air market. You can go to loud eateries where your younger travelers can people-watch their peers, or to amazing restaurants. My kids like to shop (even if they are just roaming for hours to spend ten bucks), and after a day surfing or playing in the water, they want to do some exploring on their own. Waikiki has so much for them to check out. If you want the best of both worlds, go steps away from the action at Halikulani - it will not feel busy. They also have nice entertainment outside at night. If you want even more serenity, go a half hour or so out (maybe an hour?) to Ko Olina. Then you can drive to Waikiki for a change of pace.</p>
<p>To answer your question more directly, Waikiki is filled with people. Normally, I do not like that. For some strange reason, in Waikiki, it works. That is of course if you are staying at a place which offers some refuge, which I feel both the Royal Hawaiian and Halikulani do.</p>
<p>That’s the Maui I know. When we visited, we rented condos and spent most of our time on the sparsely populated north, east, and southeast shores. The areas around Hana and to the south are the most breathtakingly spectacular places I’ve ever had the privilege to see. Of course, our rental car agreement said we weren’t allowed to drive there, but we never read the fine print until after the fact. ;)</p>
<p>Also googling Capri. Thanks for the suggestion, hmom5. And believe it or not, Kajon, Iceland was already on my list of places to check out! I’m not sure the kids would like it there, but I’d love to visit.</p>